Ira, MI DUI and OWI Law Firms & Lawyers

A DMV charge and DUI charge in state court, although related to the same incident, are 2 separate proceedings which do not effect each other. You can win at a DMV hearing and lose in state court on a DUI charge and vice versa. I strongly suggest that you contact an experienced criminal defense attorney for a face-to-face consultation and give him/her all of the facts surrounding your case. (S)he would then be in a better position to analyze your case and advise you of your options.

BAC levels do play a part plea bargaining and in the actual sentencing. Depending on the jurisdiction, judge and D.A., a good attorney can sometime have a DUI charged reduced to a "wet" of "dry" reckless with a BAC of .09 or sometimes even a .10. When you get to BAC level of .15 and above, you are dealing with excessive levels which call for enhancements in the sentencing, such as, longer jail sentences, longer license suspensions, longer DUI programs, etc. The judge usually goes by the law and what sentence is required as a result of a plea or guilty verdict after a trial. A good attorney, besides being able to have some charges reduced, can sometimes also have the enhancements eliminated during plea bargaining so as to get a more favorable sentence. If your attorney and D.A. can agree on a plea and sentence, the judge usually will follow was agreed on in the plea bargain.

In California, DUIs remain on your DMV record for 10 years and cannot be expunged from your DMV record. The DUI convictions may be expunged from the court records, at the discretion of a judge, but can still be used as enhancements for future DUI filings and convictions and will still remain on your driver's license record.